Author appearances, poetry and spoken word events in London this week
Lit in Pit with Wendy Meakin and Toby Brothers
Plan Ahead
On 25 May, the UK’s first ever edible book launch takes place at Box Park in Shoreditch. Author Sarah Holt has teams up with edible experience company Edible Stories to design a six-course menu that’s been designed to tell the story of her first novel, Love and Eskimo Snow. £57.50, prebook here.
Your chance to see Keats’s letters on display at Keats House is running out, as the exhibition closes on 27 April. Free, with admission to the house.
Festivals
Cityread London 2014 takes place throughout April, with events including workshops, quizzes, film screenings, competitions and more. See the website for events schedule.
Wednesday 23 April is World Book Night. Events taking place in London include Dorothy Koomson talking about her latest book in Woolwich, and pop-up Shakespeare theatre in Wembley. Visit the WBN website and scroll down for more information on these events and more.
23 April is also the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth. Find out about the celebrations going on across town.
Thursday 17 April
HOUSING CRISIS: Danny Dorling’s new book All That Is Solid argues that inequality is the problem behind the housing crisis. He discusses the book with Ed Howker at Southbank Centre. £8, prebook, 6.30pm
FOOD FICTION: Head to Waterstones Piccadilly for an evening with Michael Gibney, chef and author of Sous Chef: 24 Hours in the Kitchen, and Simon Wroe, author of Chop Chop, chaired by food journalist, Andrew Webb. They will discussing the differences between representations of a professional kitchen in fact and fiction. £5/£3, prebook, 6.30pm
HORROR NOVELLA: Waterstones Piccadilly hosts the UK launch of The Fifty Year Sword, Mark Danielewski’s horror novella. Free, prebook, 7pm
SALON DINNER: Pitfield cafe and shop in Shoreditch hosts a Lit in Pit Salon dinner. Discuss T.S. Eliot’s poem The Wasteland over dinner with Wendy Meakin (Channel 4′s Four Rooms) and Toby Brothers (London Literary Salon). £55, prebook, 7pm
POETRY READING: At Waterstones Hampstead, Fawzia Kane reads from her poetry collection Houses of the Dead, and is joined by the poet Jacqueline Gabbitas. £5/£3, prebook, 7pm
POETRY READING: June English’s Poetry Reading takes place at Poetry Cafe with Alison Brackenburg and Anne Drysdale. Free, just turn up, 7.30pm
WRITE IT MIC IT: Write It: Mic It at Hackney Attic gives upcoming performers a chance to try out monologues, duologues, poetry and prose on an audience. £5, prebook, 7.30pm
STAND-UP POETRY: Bang Said The Gun‘s weekly stand-up poetry shindig takes place at The Roebuck in Borough and this week features Hannah Silva + A.F. Harrold. £7/£5, just turn up, 8pm
JAMAICAN STORYTELLING: Tonight is the culmination of a 9-day project for young people which features spoken word performances based on the Jamaican dialect, telling hidden stories of Jamaica. Takes place at Rich Mix. Free, just turn up, 7.30pm
Friday 18 April
As part of Cityread London, the Gallery at Foyles in Charing Cross Road will transform into an interactive First World War hospital ward. Free, just turn up, 11am-4pm
Saturday 19 April
LIPPED INK: Lipped Ink features poetry open mic slots, a featured poet and spoken word performances. At the Poetry Cafe. £5, just turn up, 8pm
Sunday 20 April
FAMILY STORYTELLING: Newham City Farm hosts an afternoon of family storytelling. Storyteller Helen East tells stories in the setting of the barn. Free, just turn up, 1pm/3pm
POETRY SLAM: Theatre Royal Stratford East hosts Word4Word, a poetry slam with 10 poets competing for the crown. There’s also an open mic. Free, just turn up, 7pm
SHANE KOYCZAN: Canadian poet Shane Koyczan, who performed at the opening of the 2010 Winter Olympics, comes to Rich Mix for one night only. £5, prebook, 7.30pm
Monday 21 April
STORYTELLING: Stories at Invisible Dot gives writers, poets and spoken words performers a chance to share stories along a specific theme. Tonight’s performers are Mark Watson, John Rogers, Tim Clare, Joe Dunthorne and Daran Johnson. £10, prebook, 7.45pm
Tuesday 22 April
NEUROSURGERY: Neurosurgeon Henry Marsh talks about his new book (and memoir), Do No Harm, at Daunt Books in Marylebone. £8, prebook, 7pm
BRAZILIAN POETRY: Brazilian restaurant Made in Brasil in Camden hosts an evening of Brazilian poetry, with poets living in the UK using poetry to describe Brazil. Free, just turn up, 7.30pm
POETRY UNPLUGGED: The Poetry Cafe hosts Poetry Unplugged, a weekly open mic night. Anyone is welcome to sign up. £5/£4, just turn up, 7.30pm
DEATH MATCH: It’s fair to say Literary Death Match isn’t your usual spoken word night. Authors Dixe Wills, Natalie Young, Luke Brown and Jason Hewitt read their work, before being whittled down to a final two by the judges and playing a literary game to decide the winner. £10, prebook, 7pm
Wednesday 23 April
World Book Night takes place today. See above for details.
AUTHOR TALK: Author Prajwal Parajuly heads to Pimlico Library to discuss his new book, Land Where I Flee. Free, prebook, 6.30pm
UNDERGROUND DISCUSSION: Before the sad death of Bob Crow, he was due to talk at Housmans tonight. The event will go ahead as a memorial event, with Janine Booth, and Peter Pinkney discussing Booth’s book Plundering London Underground, which tells the story of the privatisation of the Underground. £3, prebook, 7pm
POETRY OPEN MIC: Rich Mix hosts Jawdance, an evening of poetry open mic performances and short poetry films. Free, just turn up (get there early for a seat), 7.30pm
SHORT STORIES: Head to Southbank Centre for Short Stories, where authors Helen Simpson, AL Kennedy, and Sarah Hall read stories about what it means to be human. £10, prebook, 8pm
Follow @LondonistLit for our pick of that day’s literary events.